


Tears of a Titan

by deathmakesapoet



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Adventure, Angst, F/M, Gen, Mystery, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-11
Updated: 2013-09-05
Packaged: 2017-12-23 03:33:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/921501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deathmakesapoet/pseuds/deathmakesapoet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>[Occurs after Chapter 30] In the aftermath of the failed mission to capture the female Titan in the forest, an ambush by a group of  deviants in the night leaves the Scouting Legion expeditionary force in tatters. Trapped in Titan territory with nowhere to run and limited supplies, startling revelations and strange events occur that propel Eren, Mikasa and their allies toward the truth behind the Titans. Who is the true enemy? A story filled with adventure, mystery, danger, death, and moments of romance.  [Eren/Mikasa] [Spoilers]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Attack

**Author's Note:**

> This is my main fic and I first published it on ffnet. If you like what you read, I'd be very grateful if you could go over there and drop me a review. There are nine chapters up there already. Not sure if I'll post all the chapters here immediately or if I'll release them periodically. You're always welcome to go check it out on ffnet if you can't wait!
> 
> As this is my own imagining of what will happen in SnK, there will be a fair number of original characters (OC). I realize that there are some people who are turned off by that kind of thing, but I hope you will give my OCs a chance! They aren't your run-of-the-mill garystu/marysue OCs, I swear!

Chapter 1 - Attack

Everything was so dark. Eren wasn't sure if his vision was so impaired due to the lack of light in his surroundings or the fatigue chipping away at his consciousness. It wasn't total darkness though. He could still see a light above him. It was a fire. He could also see a face. A familiar face, etched with fear. A voice called out to him but it was as if the sound was traveling through water, so distorted and distant it seemed to be.

"Don't stop, Eren! We need to keep running!" Klaus yelled at him. He held a torch in one hand and with the other, proceeded to grab Eren roughly by his arm and pull him to his feet. "You can rest when we've gotten the fuck out of here!"

Using Klaus to support himself as he stood up, Eren fought to regain his awareness. An intense pain ripped through his arm as he moved it, causing him to cry out in agony. Looking down, he saw a jagged bone sticking out at his elbow like a broken tower in a sea of flesh and blood. "My arm. It's broken," he said through gritted teeth. Steam vented out of the open wound, but Eren didn't think it would heal properly unless he set the bone back in place.

"It must have been the way you landed after the Titan hit you," Klaus remarked. He was referring to the incident earlier that night when the Titans had attacked the Scouting Legion's encampment, plunging everything into chaos. Eren's head threatened to split apart when he tried to recall the details. He remembered being at the camp when the Titans attacked them out of nowhere. The two of them had been cut off from the rest of the scouts by a group of titans, forcing them to retreat to the relative safety of the forest.

"I can't believe the damn sentries didn't see them coming. Fuck it, let's get out of-" Klaus continued to say, but an inhuman scream interrupted the young man's words. The sound of heavy footsteps echoed through the forest like a barrage of gunfire, each solid thump sending a wave of dread washing over the two soldiers of the Scouting Legion. Klaus wasn't sure if the tremors he was feeling came from the ground or from his own shaking body. "I can't run Klaus, I'm too weak. Go! I'll turn into a titan!" Eren said.

"Fuck you, Eren! I'm not leaving you behind!" Klaus retorted vehemently. With his uninjured arm, Eren shoved his friend aside with all the strength he could muster, causing him to stagger backwards. Klaus stood frozen to the spot as he desperately fought the urge to take flight. Just outside the boundaries of the illumination offered by the fire, he could see gigantic silhouettes closing in on their location. Three 5 meter class Titans emerged from the darkness and converged on Eren, each with an unnerving grin stretched all the way across its ugly face. The torch in Klaus' hand gave each of the titans a shadow far larger than itself, creating a nightmarish scene in the background as the monsters' colossal shadows danced on the trees in savage mimicry of their flesh and blood counterparts. Mentally berating himself for his weakness, Klaus slowly edged his way backwards, trying to create some distance between himself and the titans. There wasn't anything he could do to help without his 3D maneuver gear equipped. He could only hope that Eren would transform into a titan in time to meet their opponents in combat. Eren can take them, right? He doesn't need me, right?, he thought as paralysing fear started to consume him.

Eren's pulse broke into a frantic rhythm as the enemies lumbered towards him. Adrenaline took over, blurring out the throbbing pain in his broken arm. His mind was clear of all things except for one overriding thought. But that thought was not of the battle, or of his desire to survive, or even of his burning hatred for the cruel creatures that stood before him. To his unending surprise, one unlikely thought broke to the surface of his mind, riding on a strong current of regret and longing that overwhelmed the fear in his heart.

_Mikasa._

Placing his hand in his mouth, Eren bit down as hard as he could.

* * *

Night had only just fallen when the Scouting Legion made camp earlier that day. Sentries were stationed around the perimeter of the encampment, each solitary watchman accompanied only by the dark sky and a large sentry fire.

A chill wind danced toward the encampment from the direction of the plains ahead, sweeping past Mikasa's face and causing the sentry fire to wave angrily. She wrapped her precious maroon scarf tighter around her face to ward off the biting cold.

_Remember the goal of this plan. Or is satisfying your desires more important to you than rescuing him?_

Mikasa grimaced as she recalled Rivaille's galling question. How could there be any doubt that rescuing Eren was more important than satisfying her desire for vengeance? The mere thought of it was absurd to her ; and yet she couldn't deny what she had done. She couldn't deny that in the most crucial moment of the battle with the female Titan, she had chosen to go for a killing blow instead of securing Eren's safety.

_He's your precious friend isn't he? Am I wrong?_

No, of course he wasn't wrong. Eren was more precious to her than anything this ugly world had to offer. But why did she lose her self-control back then? Mikasa Ackerman - warrior prodigy of her generation - gave in to her emotions and nearly died as a result. She had nearly cost Eren his freedom. The mere thought of it was like a slap to her face.

_I'm always in control of myself. But it's never so simple when it comes to you, is it Eren?_ , she thought to herself. With more than a hint of longing, Mikasa kissed the inside of her scarf lightly as the image of Eren appeared in her mind. She could always count on Eren to mess her heart up. He was the key that unlocked all the emotions buried deep within her, things that she herself had repressed. Despite being heralded as one of the most skilled and rational people in the Scouting Legion, Mikasa had a habit of being uncharacteristically irrational wherever Eren was concerned. She couldn't help it. She only ever truly felt alive when she was near him. He made her feel complete.

The sound of footsteps alerted Mikasa to the arrival of her superior officer. She quickly stood to attention and saluted the sergeant. "Sir!"

"Your shift is over, Private Ackermann. Private Whitman will relieve you of your duties. You are dismissed."

Mikasa pressed a balled fist to her chest in salute before heading off in the direction of the encampment. The operation to subdue the female Titan had taken far longer than expected, and it had resulted in the deaths of far too many. Those who remained were exhausted and in no condition for further travel. The price paid for this failure was simply too high. Reluctant though he may have been to give the order, Commander Irvin had no choice but to have the soldiers make camp for the night. Normally, this would have been the ideal time to make a beeline for the wall; due to the exhaustion of the day's events, however, Irvin had decided that they should use the safety of night-time to recover their strength so that they could make the journey back home in the morning.

The encampment was just outside the border of the giant tree forest. The abnormally large trees loomed over them like spectres in the night, watching their every move with murderous intent. Mikasa often wondered why these trees were so gigantic. To her they seemed almost as unnatural as the titans that they fought so desperately to eradicate. She tried to look beyond the trees into the forest but all she could see was pitch blackness. A repressing gloom hung over the air, threatening to spill out and wash them away like leaves in a river. It reminded her of the night her parents were brutally murdered before her eyes, such was the aura of hopelessness that exuded from within. The thought that she almost lost Eren within its bowels disgusted her.

"Mikasa!" Armin exclaimed as the two met just outside their camp. "Eren's awake."

A thin smile spread across Mikasa's face when she heard the news. "Thanks, Armin," she said as she squeezed her friend's shoulder. "Is he okay?"

"A bit disoriented but he doesn't seem to be injured. Just sore," Armin replied. "I'm going to go get some ration bars. He's been whining for food ever since he woke up!" he said with a grin before running off to get one of the unholy bricks of grey matter the legion used to keep the soldiers fed. Everyone always joked about what monster of a person could infuse such horrible tastelessness into those thick bars of grey mush. Some of the troops even suggested that the purpose of the ration bars was to make everyone taste just as bad to the titans so that they would simply refuse to eat them!

With a sigh, Mikasa walked into the circle of tents that they had set up for themselves. Their camp-site was at the very edge of the encampment, closest to the trees. In the center of the circle a small camp fire radiated a glowing warmth that was a stark contrast to the foreboding darkness around them. Seated by the fire, Eren looked up as he heard her enter the camp.

"Mikasa..." he said softly as their eyes met, "Armin said that you were the one who...who saved me."

She simply nodded as she sat down close to him. "How do you feel?"

Eren averted his gaze, returning his attention to the fire. "I'm okay," he mumbled.

Mikasa stayed silent, but she knew that he wasn't okay. She knew what he was thinking. He resented being saved by her yet again. It only served as a reminder to him of his weakness. How could he eradicate all the Titans when he had to be saved by her over and over again? He resented her protection and it pained her to know that. It hurt her greatly to see his eyes sometimes fill with sadness when he looked at her. Eyes that used to be filled with so much vigour and ambition. Eyes that used to be filled with love, or at least, that's what she liked to think. She hid her feelings under a façade of stoicism, knowing that the Eren she used to know wouldn't come back until he had sated his thirst for revenge. But she was only human. Sometimes, it was just too much for her to handle. There were times when she wanted to break down and cry when she thought about all the feelings she had for him without an outlet for release. She had decided long ago that her fears and desires were secondary to Eren's survival, but that didn't make it any easier.

The two of them sat in silence for a few moments, the gentle crackling of burning kindling the only sound to fill the void between them. Eren's gaze was locked with the fire, unhindered by Mikasa's presence. She wanted so badly at that moment to just pretend that all their troubles didn't exist and throw herself into his arms, but all she could do was stare at him quietly as she wished for times long past. Without thinking, she moved to rest her head on his shoulder like she used to do when they were kids, but she stopped short when she heard someone snickering behind her. She immediately withdrew from Eren and got to her feet.

"Elizabeth," Mikasa said with the tiniest hint of annoyance in her voice. She turned around to see the petite girl standing next to her childhood friend and partner, Klaus. The children of middle class families, the both of them grew up together in Trost's business district ; Elizabeth the daughter of a book shop owner and Klaus the descendant of a long line of carpenters. Elizabeth was a short and slightly stocky girl with light brown hair and an impish smile ; a natural troublemaker. In contrast, Klaus was a tall, barrel-chested youth with short, cropped hair and a chiselled nose; handsome and amiable, the young scout couldn't count the number of propositions from the opposite sex he'd received with just two hands. He could, however, count his failures on one hand with fingers to spare, and that is what truly defined him.

"Oh, don't mind us you two, just go on doing whatever you were doing," Klaus said as he shot Mikasa a mischievous wink. "We just happened to walk by, that's all."

"What are you guys talking about?" Eren asked with a questioning look on his face. Mikasa shot the two newcomers a sharp glare before walking away from the camp in a hurry. "What's with her?"

"Oh, nothing. Girl stuff. You wouldn't understand," Elizabeth said with a chuckle as she sat herself down next to Eren. Her companion followed suit, planting himself on the ground right next to her.

"How you feeling, Eren?" Klaus asked as he reached over to give him a pat on the back. "You look like shit," he joked.

"That's mean Klaus!"

"It's alright, Liz," Eren said with a weak chuckle. He opened his mouth as if to say something but then decided not to. With a sigh, he went back to gazing at the glowing embers of the fire.

"Come on, don't be a spoil sport," Klaus teased. "Girls don't like hot-tempered guys you know!"

"No, it's nothing. I'm just tired, that's all. I only woke up just a while ago. Turning into a Titan and getting your ass kicked takes a lot out of you."

"Oh, right!" chirped Elizabeth. "You fought the female-type right? They said Mikasa and Corporal Rivaille hauled serious ass to save you!"

"Uh, yeah," Eren answered with a sigh. It didn't please him to be reminded of the incident yet again.

"I wish I were as strong as Mikasa," the girl from Trost mused. "then I could whoop Klaus' ass. He's so full of himself isn't he?"

Eren couldn't help but chuckle. "Yeah, and his head is too big. The first time I met you guys at the old castle headquarters, I could have sworn he was the smallest Titan I'd ever seen," he joked. Back then, Elizabeth and Klaus had been assigned to oversee the transport of supplies to the castle Eren was being held at. They were the only two aside from the Corporal Rivaille and the special operations squad that Eren had come into contact with over those few days. Perhaps more significantly, they were the only two of that group that didn't regard him as some kind of monster.

Klaus scoffed and gave Eren's shoulder a light punch."Very funny guys. Very funny."

"Don't be hot-tempered, eh Klaus?" Elizabeth said with a cheeky grin on her face, "Don't worry. When I'm not kicking your ass I'll be protecting it from nasty Titans with my Mikasa powers, okay?"

"Fair enough. Strong women are sexy. Just don't overdo the arms, okay? Don't wanna wake up next to female Reiner every morning!" The three of them broke into hysterical laughter as the ridiculous image of Reiner's body with Elizabeth's face entered their minds. Eren didn't know what it was about these two but they really knew how to lift his spirits. There was a short pause as the laughing died down and they stopped to catch their breaths.

"Say, Eren. What's with you and Mikasa? Come on, you can tell us," the mischievous girl cooed as she gave Eren a gentle nudge in the ribs. Klaus blanched at her sudden forwardness and laughed, leaning back to look at the stars above. _This should be good_ , he thought.

"What are you getting at?" Eren raised an eyebrow at the awkward question, clearly unsure of how to deal with it.

"Don't play dumb, Eren! We see the way she acts around you," Elizabeth said with a sly look on her face. "Come on, give us something. What is she to you?"

"Mikasa...? She's just-" Eren stammered as he struggled to find an answer for his friend's question. Before he could further contemplate the matter, a booming voice shocked the three young soldiers to their feet. It was Lieutenant Carlstroem.

"Jaeger! Where are your guards?" he barked as the three of them hurriedly saluted him.

"I sent them away sir!"

"Who the fuck do you think are? Just because we had to get some green-eared rookies to guard you doesn't mean you get to send them away with a wave of your hand!"

"Yes, sir! I'm sorry sir! I-"

"Zimmermann! Carter!" Carlstroem cut him off, referring to Klaus and Elizabeth respectively,"Looks like you two lovebirds get to babysit our resident Titan! No sleeping on the job or I'll personally make the rest of your lives a living hell!" he yelled before storming off from the camp, leaving the three friends alone with the fire and the chuckles of a few nearby scouts. Eren felt heat rising to his face, but it wasn't from the fire.

"Sorry I had to drag you guys into this," Eren apologized after they resumed their sitting positions around the fire."I just didn't feel like having guards around. It's annoying." The truth was that the guards had reminded Eren of the friends he'd lost to the female titan back in the forest. The wound was still too raw and he couldn't bear being reminded about it.

"Ah, don't sweat it," Klaus said cheerfully. "So, we were talking about-"

"Mikasa!" Elizabeth cut in. "What is she to you?"

Eren turned to look at the fire again, lost in thought. What was Mikasa to him? Was she just family? Or was she more than that to him? He really didn't know. There was too much going on right now ; his desire for revenge, the basement, his ability to transform into a titan. He'd simply never thought about it before. He wasn't sure how he felt towards her now. Her stoic attitude and unrelenting protection was suffocating him. Sometimes he felt shackled by her care. She made him feel weak and useless. He missed the old days when he could still feel a grudging sense of joy at having Mikasa watch his back all the time. Now, all he felt was resentment. It only made him hate himself more because he knew that Mikasa only does what she does out of love.

"I grew up with Mikasa," Eren finally answered.

"Well that's not much of an answer is it?" Elizabeth's gentle giant scoffed as he shifted his legs so that he could sit more comfortably.

"She's family."

"Of course she is," Klaus replied sarcastically. "And Liz is just my porter."

"Shut up, Klaus!" Elizabeth said as she hit him in the back of the head.

Eren couldn't help but smile as he watched the two of them have their small lover's quarrel. They were just like Mikasa and him in the sense that they also grew up together, but the similarities seemed to end there. Watching them, Eren couldn't help but wonder if his relationship with Mikasa would have grown into anything like this had the colossal titan never breached Wall Maria on that tragic day.

"How do you guys do it? I mean, being like this. With everything that's going on?" Eren asked.

Elizabeth gave Klaus one final slap to the back of his head before turning back to face Eren. "Well, as much as we'd like to not think about it, any one of us might be dead tomorrow. I don't wanna die without knowing that someone loves me, you know?" she said with a sly wink at Eren. "So don't make that mistake!"

"Without knowing...huh?" Eren muttered under his breath as he laid down on his back to look at the black canvas of the night sky. The stars were out in force tonight, but he was unable to admire their beauty. Tonight, his mind could only focus on one thing.

_What are you, to me?_

* * *

After storming off from the camp, Mikasa walked aimlessly through the rows of tents with a blank expression on her face. The 3D maneuver gear attached to her form was beginning to feel uncomfortable. She'd have taken it off before leaving the camp, had there been no interruption from Beauty and the Beast back there. After she was some distance away from the encampment, Mikasa stopped walking. Drawing a hardened steel blade from the dispenser at her hip, she raised it up above her head so that it reflected the pale moonlight. The blade felt like an extension of her arm, a part of her own body in the form of cold steel. Sometimes she felt like cold steel was all she was : a deadly weapon ; always calm, always collected. It was only near Eren's fiery passion that she could melt and become something more.

I should head back. Elizabeth and Klaus should probably be gone by now, anyway.

Sheathing her weapon, she turned around just in time to see the Titan's fist sailing through the air towards her. Any other person would have had their torso smashed in there and then, but Mikasa's almost superhuman reflexes allowed her to react immediately. She staggered backwards just as the fist was about to connect, dodging the brunt of the blow. The edge of the fist grazed her shoulder, causing her to cry out in pain as she fell to the ground. Getting back to her feet as quickly as she could, Mikasa immediately jumped backwards to try and create some distance between herself and her opponent. It was a 7-meter class with a strangely round head and an impossibly flat face. Drawing her blades, Mikasa's mind was ablaze with too many questions. How could the Titan have gotten so close to the camp? Why was it moving at night? She had no time to mull over such things as she saw the silhouettes of more 7-meter class Titans walking along the border of the encampment.

Are these abnormal Titans? They're being...stealthy? The thought puzzled Mikasa further, but the mystery had to wait as she had to dodge another blow from her inhuman opponent. It screamed loudly and the other titans followed suit, signalling the start of the attack. All Hell broke loose as the tell-tale sounds of death and combat replaced the peaceful quiet of the night. Dammit! I need to get back to Eren!

The Titan charged Mikasa again but this time she was ready. Switching her blades to a reverse grip, she kept her stance low and darted around the monster as it charged her, circling to attack its exposed rear. She fired her hooks at the titan's neck, the metal embedding itself deep into the hard skin. Using the added momentum offered to her by the reeling cables of her 3D maneuver gear, Mikasa leapt upwards and made two deep parallel cuts into the nape of the titan's neck, killing it instantly. Like a felled tree, it collapsed heavily onto the ground, Mikasa landing gracefully on top of it as steam started to vent out of its skin. Not wanting to waste any more time, she quickly found her feet and sprinted back towards the encampment.

Dashing through the camp, she realized that there were too many Titans for them to fight in the open space of the plains. They had to retreat to the giant tree forest if they were to have any chance of surviving the onslaught. It was chaos everywhere she went. The surprise attack had totally caught them off guard, and most of the soldiers not currently being chewed on weren't even in their 3D maneuver gear yet. Using her speed to her advantage, Mikasa dodged and weaved her way through the battle as she made her way to Eren's camp, avoiding the Titans altogether. She didn't care for anything else at that moment. She had to ensure that Eren was safe first.

As she neared the campsite, Mikasa felt her heart drop when she realized that the tents were destroyed and ablaze. "Eren! Eren!" she yelled repeatedly as she desperately scanned the area for any sign of him.

"Mikasa!"

Turning to the source of the voice, Mikasa was somewhat disappointed to see that it wasn't Eren, but Elizabeth. The girl was already in her 3D maneuver gear and her blades were stained with blood. "Klaus!...Klaus and Eren! They were chased by some of the Titans into the forest! We have to go help them!" she pleaded with a trembling voice as tears started to well up in her eyes.

"Did they have their gear?"

"No, but they made it to the treeline before the Titans did!"

"They won't be able to outrun them for long," Mikasa said. "We have to get to them before the Titans do. Go!"

Still shaking, Elizabeth took a deep breath to calm herself before she turned to sprint towards the treeline. Mikasa followed suit, glancing back only once to see the carnage the titans had left in their wake. Part of her wanted to go look for Armin, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Eren's situation was more dire. She could only hope that Armin managed to escape or group up with other fighters. Cursing the fact that she even had to make such a decision, Mikasa tightened her grip on her blades and fired her hooks towards the treeline the moment she was near enough to do so. Elizabeth did the same and the both of them launched into the air in unison, determined to save their loved ones together.

"There! Light! It's Klaus' torch!" Elizabeth exclaimed, pointing to her right. The both of them made a sharp turn in that direction immediately, using a giant tree as a pivot. As they raced towards the source of the light, the grim darkness of the forest seemed to close in on them, threatening to swallow them whole with an unyielding sense of dread. The light of the torch in the distance seemed to flicker and fade, much like their own hopes, but it was enough to spur the two women on. A scream echoed through the trees, sounding suspiciously like it came from Eren. Mikasa immediately doubled her speed as she desperately tore across the air towards the source of the sound, all the while hoping that she wasn't too late.


	2. Rage and its Consequences

Eren let out a cry of pain as he pulled his wounded hand away from his mouth. Teeth marks and blood marred the area he had bitten, but no steam came out of it. No Titan flesh materialized around it. It was just a throbbing, wounded human hand that he held gingerly to his chest. He was not a Titan.

The monster that towered above him, however, was a Titan in every sense of the word. With a sadistic grin stretched across its face, it raised its hand to smite Eren, much like how a vengeful god would strike down a traitorous infidel. Eren stood rooted to the spot, his expression locked in a defiant snarl as he was faced with the prospect of dying. He had heard that when people die, their entire life flashes before their eyes. Eren found himself wondering if it was true after all, because all he could see in his mind were memories of Mikasa. From the night that he saved her life to their time together in the training corps, all the way up to the very last time he saw her, back at the encampment. The thought of that last conversation with her before everything went south made Eren's heart sink with the weight of regret. _Are those really going to be my last words to Mikasa?_

"Eren! Get back!"

Snapped out of his stupor, Eren looked upwards just in time to see Klaus flying through the air with a hardened steel combat knife in his hand. He had climbed a nearby tree and now he was careening towards one of the Titans, an expression of desperation and fear etched on his face. Putting his entire weight into the attack, he plunged the cruel metal deep into the Titan's eye, causing it to stumble backwards from the force. Desperately clinging onto its skin, Klaus switched the blade to his other hand and rammed it repeatedly into the titan's remaining eye, completely robbing it of its vision.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Klaus kept chanting the word as if it were some sort of battle cry or war ritual that would endow him with the strength to fight. But the truth behind the spell was evident in his trembling voice; he was scared beyond his wits. The only thing keeping him going was instinct and fear. He was doing what he had to do. The Titan reached for its face to grab him but Klaus let go just in time, dropping to the ground with a heavy thud. The jarring impact caused him to become disoriented for a moment. However, he retained enough clarity to quickly roll away just as one of the other Titans brought its foot down where he had lain just moments ago. With a roar of defiance, Klaus desperately stuck the knife into the Titan's toe with all his might. The Titan did not seem to feel any pain from the stabbing, so casual was its movement to pick him off the floor. Klaus hastily got to his feet and narrowly dodged the huge fingers as they tried to catch him. The blind Titan continued to flail around randomly in an effort to find him, hitting its allies in the process. As luck would have it, the Titan tripped over a root in its sightless frenzy and fell over, bringing the other two Titans down in a heap together with it.

"Eren! Get the torch!" Klaus screamed as he turned. "Now, damn it!"

Eren promptly retrieved the torch from the ground and re-joined Klaus. "Klaus! I couldn't transform! I-"

"Enough talk, man. Move!" Klaus barked at him, cutting off his speech. He grabbed the torch from Eren's hand and ran ahead. Eren glanced back at the Titans that were tangled in a bunch on the floor. The blind Titan had steam coming out of its eye sockets, but it seemed like it was staring straight at him. The unnerving sight made him shiver. He immediately turned to run after Klaus.

Driven by instinct, the two of them kept running for what seemed like hours, but they couldn't be sure. In the near total darkness of the forest, time no longer seemed apply to their world. What light that did peek through the dense canopy of leaves was sparse and ghostly, like thin beams of ethereal chalk that somehow seemed more eerie than the blackness which surrounded them. The thundering footsteps of their pursuers spurred them on regardless, driving them forward like sheepdogs herding cattle.

Klaus dragged Eren along by his arm, determined not to leave him to die despite the insistence of his younger friend. "Shut it, Eren. Neither of us are going to die here," he said between labored breaths.

"It's not the time to be a hero, Klaus,"Eren retorted. "Liz needs you. I'll try to turn into a titan again, if you just-"

"Why can't you just trust me, Eren?" Klaus yelled in frustration.

_Is it true Eren? You really don't believe in us?_

The memory of Petra's last words to him struck Eren hard. He stopped in his tracks and lowered his head into his uninjured hand. "I don't know!" Eren screamed. "I don't fucking know who to believe!"

Klaus put a hand on his friend's shoulder and let out a weary sigh. He didn't know what to say. His own mind was processing a similarly chaotic torrent of thoughts and emotions at the time. All he knew was that if they stopped running, they would die. He didn't even have his combat knife to fight with anymore. "Eren, this is why Mikasa protects you all the time. You need to stop carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders," he said. "Right now, we gotta keep running."

Klaus' words left Eren speechless. All he could do was nod to convey his acquiescence. Glad that his words had reached his friend, Klaus turned to continue their endless marathon to nowhere. It wasn't long before exhaustion overtook them, and they finally ended their flight at a wide clearing in the middle of the forest. A small oasis of dim light in a desert of blackness, the two of them thought that they had arrived at their final resting place. They took a breather in the nook between the buttress roots of a giant tree as they awaited the arrival of their executioners.

Covered with sweat and blood, Eren simply stared blankly into space. His breaths were short and labored, the wounds he had sustained throughout the day had taken a heavy toll on his body. But Klaus could tell that there was something else on his mind. "I'm sure Mikasa is fine," he said. "That girl could kick Titan ass with nothing but a fork."

Eren looked to Klaus with a weary smile on his face. "I'm sure Liz is fine too. She may not look like it, but she's a tough one."

"Like I wouldn't know that!" Klaus chuckled. "She's always wanted to see the world outside the world, you know? That's why she joined the Legion. She's not gonna die here."

"What about you?" Eren asked.

"Nah. I just wanted to be a carpenter, like my dad. Boy, was he pissed when he heard I joined the military," came the reply. "I'm his only son. Last of the Zimmermann bloodline," he continued with a slight hint of bitterness in his voice.

"You joined because of Liz?"

Klaus didn't reply to that question. He just smiled wearily at Eren and put a hand on his shoulder. The young Titan-shifter didn't need to hear the words to know the answer. He could see a sadness in his friend's eyes that made his own heart weep.

"I don't regret anything though," the young boy from Trost said with a wink. "Sometimes a man's gotta do what he's gotta do."

Eren nodded in agreement at Klaus' words. Then he suddenly looked away when a random thought entered his mind.

 _Oh my god, I'm Elizabeth and Mikasa is Klaus_ , he thought, covering his face with his hand as the embarrassing realization hit him.

"Hey, you know, me and Liz, it's like you and Mikasa, except the other way round!" Klaus exclaimed with a hearty laugh.

And so it was with laughter that they met the Titans. Their three pursuers strode into the clearing in unison, hell-bent on finally devouring their quarry. Their huge bodies blocked out what little light that could make it through the canopy, covering the two soldiers in a large blanket of dark shadow.

With nary a word spoken between them, the two soldiers helped each other to their feet. They weren't going to face their deaths lying down. Eren put his hand to his mouth again and glanced at Klaus. If they were going to die anyway, they might as well give it one more shot.

He didn't have to sink his teeth again this time though, as two of the Titans suddenly fell backwards for no immediately apparent reason. The sound of reeling cables and ejecting gas could be heard echoing around the clearing, providing a hint as to the cause for the sudden turn of events. The third Titan managed a final instinctive scream before it too joined its allies in a heap on the ground.

"Klaus!" Elizabeth yelled as she landed on the ground in front of the deceased Titans. She immediately ran up to him and locked him in a tearful embrace. "Klaus, you idiot! You idiot!" she whispered between desperate sobs.

"Elizabeth, I-" Klaus began to say, but Elizabeth didn't let him finish. Holding his head in her hands, she reached up and planted her lips firmly over his, not allowing him to say another word.

Mikasa didn't say anything as she walked up to Eren and stood before him. He was speechless as well. He had just given up all hope of seeing her again only a short while ago, to have her standing before him right now was nothing short of emotionally overwhelming. Without warning, Mikasa wrapped her arms around him, embracing him tightly for all she was worth. He could feel her body tremble against his own, but she did not say a word to him. Eren could feel his face turn red with heat. He had forgotten what it was like to hold someone in his arms. The smell of Mikasa's hair filled him with a sense of familiar joy that he could not explain.

When they eventually parted, Mikasa finally noticed the grotesque condition of Eren's arm. "What happened?" she asked, a look of genuine concern on her face.

"I got sent flying by a Titan," he said, "and let's just say the landing was less than comfortable." Gingerly lifting his injured arm up for her inspection, Eren grimaced as the stinging pain pierced him again. "I don't think it will heal unless it's set back in place," he continued with a tone that suggested that he did not particularly enjoy the thought.

Mikasa sighed and took Eren's uninjured hand in hers. "Sit down," she ordered. "Elizabeth, keep a lookout." Picking up a fallen branch from the ground, she snapped off a thin stick, handed it to Eren and told him to bite on it. Seated together on the ground, Eren's face was a picture of reluctance as he let Mikasa take his broken arm in her hand. Bracing himself, he looked into Mikasa's eyes and nodded to signal that he was ready. She nodded in kind and with one swift motion the bone was set back in place with a resounding crack.

The pain that enveloped Eren was immense, blocking out all his thoughts and senses. The stick in between his teeth threatened to snap under the immense pressure of his jaws as a muffled scream escaped from his lungs. Tears flowed freely from his eyes, the pain driving out all composure from his body. Seeing the agony he was in caused Mikasa's eyes to become watery with tears too. She gently took Eren's head in her hands and pressed it against her chest, desperate to help ease his pain somehow. Nestling her face into his hair, she held him against her body until the pain finally subsided, leaving him numb and weak. He had almost passed out in her arms, but somehow the feeling of her heartbeat against his face helped him hold on to his consciousness.

Eren stayed in her arms for a few moments longer as he tried to recover his strength. The warmth of Mikasa's body and the gentleness of her touch gave him a sense of security that washed away all his fears and worries. For those few moments, nothing else existed except for Mikasa.

"Are you alright?" she whispered tenderly in his ear.

Reluctantly, he finally removed himself from her embrace. Seeing the tear stains he had left on her shirt, Eren swiftly apologized, but Mikasa would have none of it. She helped him to his feet and let him use her as support. "Are you alright, Klaus? Can you move?" she asked.

"Not very well. We're both pretty banged up," came the reply.

Cursing their luck, Mikasa had no choice but to order them to lay low while Eren and Klaus recovered their strength. "We can't move anywhere with the two of them in this condition," she said. "Up there. We'll rest on that branch."

* * *

It was only a few hours before dawn when Eren finally awoke from his slumber. The torch had long since died out, but the darkness was no longer as unrelenting as it was before. Opening his eyes, he checked to see that his arm was fully healed. It was a surreal feeling to see a perfectly fine arm where only hours before there was only a bloody, mangled limb. He wondered if he could ever get used to the unnatural regenerative powers he was endowed with. He almost wished that his arm didn't heal after all. At least he'd know that he was human. As he was now, Eren wasn't sure what he was. Sometimes he felt like his powers were as much a curse as a gift. Such sweet irony it was for him to be the very thing that he was trying to destroy. The very thing that he despised with all his soul.

"Finally awake?" Elizabeth asked as she squatted down beside him.

"Liz. Where's Mikasa?"

"She's over there with Klaus," she answered, pointing over her shoulder to show him where they were. There was a short moment of silence before she continued to speak. "Hey, Eren. Thanks," she said.

"For what?" Eren questioned as he pushed himself up into a sitting position. The jacket that was draped over him slid off his body and onto the tree branch, prompting him to pick it up. Upon further inspection he realized that it was Mikasa's jacket.

"For helping Klaus to stay alive," she said with a weary smile. The thought of Klaus dying sent a shiver through her body. "Ever since we were kids, he's always been the type to protect people. You know? Even if he's scared out of his mind, the responsibility always keeps him going. Always. He's alive now because of you."

Eren realized that she was starting to tear up as she said those words. He grabbed Elizabeth's hand and gently squeezed it in an effort to comfort her. "It's going to take a lot more than three Titans to kill that guy. He's strong."

Elizabeth wiped a tear from her eye and squeezed Eren's hand as well. "Don't let him hear you say that, he's full of himself, remember?" she joked half-halfheartedly, inciting a weak chuckle from the boy. "I'd never be able to live with myself if Klaus died. He...he only joined the Legion because of me."

"But there's always the risk of dying if you're a Scout."

"Yeah. I know it's selfish, but I had to join," she said, "I just can't sit still behind those walls. I just can't. I told Klaus not to follow me. I told him. But he never listens." Eren could tell there was a lot on her mind. For the first time since he met her, it occurred to him that her outward persona of cheerfulness and optimism might just be a mask to hide the deeper conflicts within herself. The thought seemed a sad one to him, but he couldn't deny the allure of the world outside the walls. He suffered from the same disease as her, a disease of the mind that bred curiosity and ambition. Settling down with Klaus would never have satisfied her.

"Sometimes, I hate myself for being like this. I've never wanted to put him in danger," Elizabeth sighed. "I'll call them over. Mikasa will be glad to see that your arm is healed."

Eren got to his feet with help from Elizabeth just as Mikasa and Klaus walked over to them. His legs were still wobbly, but he felt a lot better now after finally getting some rest. "Thanks for the jacket." he said to Mikasa as he handed the garment back to her.

"Feeling better now?" she asked him.

"Better. I don't know if I can turn into a Titan yet though."

"If we're going to survive, we'll need you to." Mikasa said. She glanced at Klaus for a second before explaining their plan to get back to the wall. "I've discussed the matter with Klaus and we both agree that our best shot at getting back to the Wall is if you turn into a Titan and carry us back there. We'll never be able to get back safely if we travel by foot."

"But I'm not sure if...if I can control it yet," Eren stammered.

"It's a desperate plan," said Klaus, " but it's all we've got right now. Just to be on the safe side, I think that we should head back towards the encampment and gather what supplies we can. We can get maneuver gear for the both of us as well."

"He's right," Mikasa agreed, "We'll stand a better chance of surviving if we do that. At the very least, it'll let us stay alive for as long as possible. If Commander Irvin managed to organize any sort of evacuation and got back to the wall in one piece, he'll definitely send a search party for us. He won't want to lose his most precious assets if he thinks that there's any chance that we're still alive."

"Understood. When do we leave?" Eren asked.

"Just before dawn, when it's bright enough for us to move quickly." she answered, "Be ready."

* * *

The cold of the morning greeted the group of survivors when they neared the outer edge of the forest of giant trees. The sun had yet to rise, but hints of radiance spilling over the horizon granted a small degree of visibility to the world and all its creatures. Just before they reached the border separating the forest from the plains, they came across a couple of dismembered bodies lying on the ground. They were equipped with 3D maneuver gears but the equipment was crushed and in pieces.

"I wonder if anyone besides us managed to get into the forest." Klaus mused as he skirted around one of the corpses.

"We're here." Elizabeth said as they broke from the cover of the tree line. The encampment looked more like a painting of Hell than anything else. Half-eaten corpses and severed limbs lay strewn across the grassy landscape, a sea of green dotted with grotesque flourishes of blood and meat. Most of the tents were crushed and in tatters. Some looked like they had burned down in the chaos of the massacre. As they walked deeper into the carnage, Eren and Mikasa constantly scanned the area for any sign of Armin.

"The horses. They're gone!" Klaus stated, pointing at the tree where the Legion had secured its horses before the attack. "Do you see anyone here that looks like the Commander? Or the Lance Corporal?"

"I can't find any sign of them. Or Armin." Eren said with a sigh of relief, "Commander Irvin must have managed to organize an evacuation."

"Let's hope so. Find some maneuver gear and ration bars. We've gotta get out of here before the sun is up." said Mikasa.

The four soldiers searched the ruins of the camp as thoroughly as they could with the limited time that they had, but to their dismay they couldn't find any usable equipment or even any gas. It was almost as if the Titans had made sure to destroy every piece of equipment they could find. Another act of intelligence that did not align with their understanding of Titan-kind. It was a very sobering feeling, the thought that there was still so much they didn't know. One of the first lessons they were taught in the Training Corps was that to defeat your enemy, you must know your enemy. It was little wonder that humanity was so hard pressed to survive against the Titan onslaught if their knowledge of them was truly so limited.

"I found some ration bars, but they're kind of squashed." Elizabeth said as they regrouped in the middle of the encampment. She handed each of them a grey blob of sustenance that was squashed beyond its original brick-like form. "At least it can't taste any worse than it already is, eh?"

"Damn it, just our luck, isn't it?" Klaus cursed, kicking a crushed piece of maneuver gear on the floor in frustration.

"We don't have a choice then. We have to get back to the trees." Mikasa said. "Did you find any water, Elizabeth?"

"Yeah, I did!" she said, taking a canteen from the inside pocket of her jacket. "We'll have to share it though. Might last us for a day or two."

Satisfied that there was nothing more to salvage, the quartet quickly made their way back to the tree line. Their second excursion into the kingdom of giant trees was not uneventful, however. Instead of the smell of leaves and soil, what greeted them as they entered the forest was the stench of rotting flesh and putrid Titan breath. By the time they realized that they had walked into a trap, the Titans had surrounded them.

"Up! Now!" Mikasa snapped. She grabbed Eren and launched towards one of the lower-hanging branches. Elizabeth quickly did the same with Klaus, managing to get off the forest floor just in time to avoid a swipe from one of the Titans. But just as she landed on the branch and released her grasp on Klaus, one of the Titans rammed the tree with all its might, causing her to lose her balance and fall over the side of the branch. "Elizabeth!" Klaus screamed in horror as he desperately reached his hand out to grab her, but all he managed to catch was air.

Desperately, the falling girl righted her balance mid-air and launched her hooks at a nearby tree, allowing her to evade the clamping jaws of a leaping Titan just in time. Hastily swinging and swerving to avoid the Titans, she was forced away from the group, bringing many of the monsters with her.

"Fuck! I've got to help her!" Klaus bellowed from atop his perch. His posture was aggressive and his voice full of rage.

"No, Klaus! You don't have any gear!" Eren yelled in response.

Klaus punched the tree trunk in frustration, unable to contain the fear that was bubbling from within. His demeanor changed abruptly as he sank to his knees. "Mikasa! Please! You're the only one who can help her now!" He pleaded tearfully.

Hesitation grew in Mikasa's mind. An unfamiliar feeling of indecisiveness came over her as she looked down to see many Titans still trying to climb the trees to get at them. She did not want to leave Eren defenseless, even if it meant going against her own moral code. Is that really all I am? Cold steel? Am I even human?, she thought angrily, lamenting the hard decision that she was forced to make.

It took Eren's touch to enlighten her as to what she had to do. He grabbed her by the shoulders and knocked his head into hers, just like he did before the battle of Trost when she had told him to abandon the front lines and go to her if the battle went badly.

"Mikasa. You have to help her." he said. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. The Mikasa I know would never leave someone to die, right?" Eren stared straight into her eyes with a look that would brook no argument. There was something about his gaze that always managed to shake Mikasa up. It was like he was the only one who could see her true self. "Don't die." She pulled him close and whispered into his ear before leaping from the branch to pursue Elizabeth. She did not show it, but she was thankful to have Eren be her voice of reason yet again.

"Thank you, Mikasa. Thank you!" Klaus stammered pitifully as the girl disappeared from sight. Fighting to regain his composure, he wiped the tears from his face and grabbed Eren by his arm. We've got to climb higher." he said. As if to reinforce Klaus' statement, a Titan leaped upwards and tried to grab the branch, narrowly missing it by just a few inches. Needing no further incentive, they ascended the tree trunk as quickly as they could, all those mountain-climbing exercises finally coming to good use.

* * *

The two exhausted boys sat together on the highest tree branch they could climb onto as they waited for Mikasa to return with Elizabeth. Eren had never seen Klaus so worried. He didn't even bother to talk. All he did was constantly scan the area for any sign of the girls' return. Eren was quite worried himself. A biting fear clawed at his insides, making him feel sick. He couldn't help but wonder if he'd sent Mikasa to her doom. The mere thought of it scared the life out of him.

"God, Eren. When did you become so damned sappy?" he unintentionally said aloud.

"What?" Klaus threw him a strange look. The sound of whirring cables and expelling gas saved Eren from the need to explain himself. The pair quickly looked towards the direction the sound was coming from just in time to see Mikasa's gear run out of gas. She was carrying Elizabeth in her arms. It seemed that she had run out of gas as well. Eren felt his pulse die for a moment when he saw the two girls crash into the side of a tree with a loud smack. They fell heavily to the ground to become easy prey for the pursuing Titans.

Before he knew it, Eren was sailing through the air towards the Titans that were closing in on the girls. All conscious thought deserted him as instinct and rage took over. He wanted revenge. He wanted blood. He could taste his own blood as he bit down on his own hand. _Crush. Maim. Kill. Kill them all!_

Like a falling hammer, Eren's gigantic Titan form crushed a wild Titan beneath its heel as it landed, sending blood and gore splattering everywhere. He opened his jaws as wide as they would go and let out a bellow full of primal fury. Wild Titans of all shapes and sizes converged on Eren, each of them driven by instinct to feast upon his flesh. They stood no chance as Eren went on an uncontrolled rampage, destroying every opponent that stepped up to face him.

Klaus stood in awe and terror of the surreal sight before him. He had never seen his friend turn into a Titan before. The unbridled fury that he saw now chilled him to the bone. Despite his complete trust in Eren as a person, he found himself genuinely wondering if Eren was really human or just a monster. A sensation of dread slid under his skin when he realized that Eren seemed to be getting more and more out of control as the battle raged on. His movements were getting wilder and his eyes were white with hate.

Mikasa regained her consciousness just as a 20-meter class stepped forward to face Eren. In his almost feral state, Eren did not have the wit to dodge the Titan's sledgehammer punch, instead choosing to block it with his arms as he screamed in defiance. The larger Titan punished his foolishness with an unstoppable haymaker, crushing his arms and causing him to fall backwards. An expression of horror graced both Mikasa's and Klaus' faces when they realized that Eren was going to fall over. Mikasa desperately tried to drag the still unconscious Elizabeth out of harm's way, but she was too heavy to be moved in time. Every fibre of her being wanted to save Elizabeth, but she ultimately had no choice but to roll away at the last second before she was crushed beneath the massive body as well.

And so like a felled tree, Eren dropped to the earth, crushing everything beneath him with a thunderous slam. Somehow, his subconscious seemed knew what was happening, despite his obvious inability to exhibit direct control over his Titan-body's actions. Lying on the ground silently, tears started to flow from his eyes, though his face did not seem to express any sadness.

The expression on Klaus' face however, was the very epitome of despair. On his knees and in tears, he could not find any words to say. He vomited over the edge of the tree branch as his mind struggled to register what had just happened. He refused to accept it. He couldn't accept it.

Elizabeth was dead.


End file.
